Disconnecting gear



Oct. 11, 1932. E. NIBBS DISCONNECTING GEAR Filed Jan. 12, 1931 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i llllc fig' g Get. 11, 1932. E. NIBBS DISCQNNECTING GEAR Filed Jan. 12. 1931 Patented Oct. 11, 1932 UNITED STATES [P AT E-NT joFFicE ERNEST Nines, OF NEW LONDON, coivNEoTIoUr, ASSIGNOR TO ELECTRIC BOATjCOMPANY,

F G oToN, connEoTIcU'n'A CORPORATION OF nEwJERsEY DISCONNECTING GEAR Application filed January 12, 1931. Serial No. 508,152.

This invention relates to submarine boats,

and has todo-more-particularly with means for cutting oli or disconnecting the main or surface power plant prior to submergence. In a submarine boat, itis necessaryunder present practice to close ofi the exhaust system before submergence in order to prevent Water having access to the engine, and it is customary to have one or more valves fitted to each outlet from the main propelling engines. The procedure for diving, in accordance with present practice, is to first stop the engineand then close the exhaust outlet, and

then disconnect the engine from the propel- 'ler, after Which the submerged power plant. "can besafely utilized for under water pro-' pulsion. In order to provide for emergency diving, asfor instance submerging to avoid beingstruck by a surface vessel, the nearest attendant on watch will close the outboard simultaneously stops the engine it-will continue firing with the result that the exhaust gases, being denied exit, will raisethepressure in the now closed exhaust system and such gases will find their way into the interior ofthe vessel. Thisis highly obj ectionable for obvious reasons.

In order tokeep the boat under'control, it is highly important that the propellers may be driven by the submerged power plant immediately 'upon the surface'power plant becoming inoperative. Under the present practice, the closing of the exhaust valve, the

stopping of the engine, and the disconnecting of the engine "from the propellers require three separate and distinct operations. In

case of an emergency, as-whenit becomes necessary to'dive-to avoid being struck by a surface vessel, there is no assurance that these operations will be performed with suflithe engine disconnected from the-propeller in proper order and with-great-rapidity. A further object is to provide disconnecting gear whereby these operations may be per- I assure that the boat can dive or submerge 7 upon an instants notice and that the sub merged poWer plant can be put into operation, immediatelysupon disabling of the main'or surface power plant, so -that the boat remains under proper control. Thisis highly important as enabling. diving or submergencel upon short notice and assuring safety oi the personnel of the boat. ,A. furtherfobject of my invention is to provide a disconnecting control system, or the clutch for clutching the engine to and declutching it from; the

In the drawings gear of the character stated which under propeller shaft; urther objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the ;detailed description. I

I exhaust valve, but unless another attendant V Figure 1 is a side view of anjinternal com- 7 bustion engine andassociated parts forpropelling a submarine boat, ill-ustratinga dis connecting gear 1n accordance With myinvention'as applied, parts being shown in section and the'hull of the boat being sh'own fragmentarily andin section; v

FigureQ-is a semi-diagrammatic perspective view of the disconnecting gear of my;

invention. v 4

.I have illustrated my inventionas applied to a Diesel engine ,E disposed Within the hullH of a submarine boat. An exhaust pipe 1 extends from this engine through the;

hull I-I, opening exteriorly thereof, this pipe discharging into a muflier 2- of suitable type' Fuel oil is supplied to the cylinders of the engine from a tank 3- which is connected by l a pipe 4 to an oil'pump 5 driven from the engine in a suitablemanner. An air flask 6 is suitably connected to the engine cylin 'ders or, inore correctly, totheinjection nozzles for injecting oil into the cylinders,; and

air from this flask is supplied, bya' pipe 7,?

to the upper end of a cylinder 8 in which V operates a floating piston 9. Oil under .pres- I sure is supplied to cylinder. 8, beneath piston 9, from pump 5,"through 'a port 11. 5A pipe 12,. forming an extension of pipe 4,

opensinto cylinder 8 a'sho'rt distance above port 11. The space beneath piston 9 co1nmunicates, by means of a duct 13 with a chamb'er'M of a valve casing 15 in which operates a fuel control valve 16, this valve being of elongated cylindrical shape and having a cutaway portion '17 intermediate its ends. 1 Chamber 14: communicates, by means ofan outlet ductlS, Wltll. a tube 19.

"opening into a manifold from which 1e21- tend tubes 21 for supplying oil to the in jection nozzles of the c'ylinders of the engine. In the normal operation of the engine,

the cutaway portion 17 of valve l6'is dis-' posedin alignment w1th duct. 13 so that oil I under pressure fIOlDtllQ pump] and the lower portion of cylinder '8, is supplied to chains and flows through tube 19 to the n1a-ni fold' 20. Air is supplied to flask 6 under constant'pressure by means of a suitable air "compressor 22, and througha cooling device 23; 7 If the pressure'of the oil, in thelower portionof cylinder'8 rises abovethat or the air above piston'9, the upper end-of'pipe'lfz isunc'ov ered and a portion of the oil is by-' passed ba'ck to the pump, thusreducing the "oil pressure. {'Ifthe'oil pressure beneath the piston drops below that of the air above the piston, the upper end of pipe'lllis closed to prevent racing ofthe engine or operation "thereof. at a: greater speed than that for and the oil pressure is. built up until equilibriurn is again established, This assures 'supply ofoil 'to the engine underconstant pressure.

" The valve 16 provides means for] control ling the speed of operation of the engine by regulating the fuel ted thereto. In order which the valve 16 is set, a-centrifugal gov- 'fernor of suitabletype -is' provided and is connected to the valve 16' for automatically operating the same. The" centrifugal governoremployed is preferably similar to that disclosed'in the patentjto Gregory C. Davi son for fuel supply system for internal com- I bustion engines, 1ssued August .7, 1917, No.

1,236,060. V This patent also discloses the fuel" supply system above brieflydescribed. The centrifugal governor isenclo'sedin a suit able casing and is designated 24. This governor is suitably connected to a propeller shaftf25 driven by the engine E, this shaft havinginterposed therein a'suitable coupling.

26. The engine has associated therewith a clutch 27 of known type for clutching th' engine to and de'clutching it from the shaft 25 A'rod'28 is suitably connected, at its.

lower: 'end,to the governor 24; so as to be raisedan'd lowered thereby in accordancewith increase and decrease in speed of ro-' I tation' 'of'shaft 25. The upper end of this afr'od is pivotallyconnected, at 29, to onev end of a floating lever SOthe o her end of. or which is pivoted atBl to the'upper end of a link 32 pivotedatfigtothe pump struc iently secured to'or formed outer portion or pipel. I the lever 35 1s=connectedby a'link 38 to one disclosed in the above identified patent to Davison, and neednot'be further illustrated I I ll! I nor described here. The centriiugal governor coacts with rod28 and the, floating lever 30 to actuate valve 16 in such manner as to regulate the supply of fuelito the engine ,in accordance with the desiredlengine speed, thus preventineracing of the engine or operation'th'ereof ata greater "speed than that for which the valve isinitiallly set.

This control means-and the operation there-V of are disc'losedin more detail inthe'patent above identified and need not'be further '11-. lus'trated nor described here, 1t being sufl cient to note that suitable means is provided for actuating the. fuel control valve in ac cordance-with variations'in" speed of rotati'on'otthe shaft Y f A suitable valve controls the exhaust pipe 1 for: opening and closing the/same..-

When oaeratinv on: the surface" this valve a a 1s in' open position so that the products-of combustion-from engine E. escapethrough exhaust pipe 1. Prior to submergence, .the

valve 34: is closed. The provision ofsuch a valve. 18 knownin. the art. A lever. 35;:is connected atone-end; byfl-pin andslot cou nections 86, to the-upper end of stein i l of l valve 34 This leveris pivoted intermediate 7 its ends upon a suitablebracketB'Z conven integral with the end of a lever 39 pivoted-intermediateits At itsiother end 7 ends upon a bracket 40 secured to the hull, H

of the boat. The other end of lever 39 is connected by pin and slotconnectio'ns 41 to the upper end of rod 42'slidablethrough astufiing box 43 through kwhich the rod pro-' vjects outwardly of the hull. The- -lower'end of thlsrod is pivoted to aneccentric pin -4ll of a gear wheel 45 rotatablyfmounted; in a bracket 46 suitably secured to the structure of engine E. r A segmental rack meshes I ith spur. gear wheel 45. This rack is secured upon ainain control shaft 48 rockably mounted in suitable bea "ing members 49 suitably secured to the engine structure. A main operating lever 50 is secured to shaft. 48.

sendbly or construction. YWhen' the valve 34 1S closed,'.the lever 50 1s disposed substantial ly horizontally and extends away from the Byturning leVer S O in proper ldirection,the valve 34E may be opened or closed. Ttis noted that the levers 35 and-39 and associated parts possess appreciable resiliency'so asto assure tight-seating. of valvefBlwhen closed While allowing for i any jslight inaccuracies in asengine E. For holding the lever in adjustment, I provide a suitable rack 51 disposed concentric with shaft 48, with which rack cooperates a detent 52 carried by the lever and operatedv in a known manner. In order to open the valve 34, the lever 50 is. moved downwardly through an arc of approxi- .mately 90 into substantially vertical position. This serves to turn the gearwheeli45 through an arc ofapproximatelyl80 so as to raise the eccentric pin 44 thus opening the valve 34 by means of rod:42 and the .parts associated therewith.

A fuel control shaft 53 is rockably mount}- 77 ed in parallel relation to shaft 48, in suitable bearing members 54 secured to the engine structure, and to the governor 24. A

finger 55 is secured tothis shaft and extends laterally thereof beneath the fuel control valve 16. .An expansion coil "spring '56 is mounted about the lower portion of this valve and is confined between finger 55 and the lower end of valve casing 15.. 'An arm 57 is secured upon shaft 53 and projects therefrom oppositely to finger 55. This arm is connected by a link 58 to a lever 59 pivoted intermediate its ends, at 60, upon a bracke 61, the other end of this lever being connected by a link 62to 'floating lever at a point between link 16 and rod 28. 7 provides aconnection between shaft 53 and floating lever 30 such that, when the shaft 53 is rocked in a clockwise direction asconsidered in Figure 2, a lifting effect will be exerted upon lever 30 for raising the valve 16, this effect being supplemented by the pressure of finger upon the lower end of the valve. A fuel control lever 63is mounted for turning movement adjacent a cooperating segment64 and this lever is connected by a link 65 to an arm 66 secured to shaft 53, this arm having a pin67 extending through a slot 68 in link 65. 'lVith the lever 63 in the position shown in Figure 2, the shaft 53 is inrunning positionxso that the valve 16 can be operated in the'manner previously described. It will be noted that the slot 68 'and the pin 67 provide a lost motion conneccarried by the lever. This lever is'connected :t-ion between the shaft 53 and lever 63 which permits of rocking movementof shaft 53 independentlyof lever 63 and in a direction 1 to open valve 16, this valve being closedin the position of shaft 53 illustratedin Fig ure 2. V

A clutch lever 69 is suitably mounted on a cooperating segment 70 having spaced notches for reception of asuitable detent 71 by link 72 to one arm of a bell crank 73 rockably mounted in a bracket 7 4 The other arm of this bell crank is' connected by alink 75 to a lever 76 pivotally secured intermediate its ends, at 7 7 ,to the upper end of a link ,7 8. The lower end of link? 8 is pivoted to i an arm-79 secured to a clutch shaft 80 rock- This ably mounted in asuitable manner and pro 'vided with fingers 81 which coact with the discs of a.clutch.82 of known type so as'to declutch the engine fromthe shaft 25 upon turning of shaft 80 in a clockwise direction,

as consideredin Figure 2, ma known manner. :The other end of lever 76 1s connected to the lower end ofa rod 83 pivoted thereto,

the upper end of this rod being pivoted to an arm 84 secured upon the main control shaft 48. A finger 85 is secured-to rod 83] V and projects through a slot 86 in an arm 87 secured upon shaft 53. When vthe valve "34- isclosed shaft 53 is turned insllch direction as to raise the valve 16 into closed: position,

thus cutting off supply ;of fuel to-the engine and stopplng the same. This operation occurs regardless of the position ofthe control lever 63, due to the pin; and slot connection between link 65 andiarm 66, F urtherniore finger 85 coacts with arm 87 to hold shaft 53 in fuel valve closing positi n so long -as the valve 34 is closed. j j

- Rocking of shaft 48.intoposition to close the valve 34 serves to raise rod 83 which actsthrough lever 76 and link .78 to turn shaft80 in clutch releasing direction, thus declutching-shaft 25 from the engine. This opera ,tionoccurs even though the :lever 69 bein its associated linkage connection between the same and the floating lever 30 be provided at all times and such arm and linkage may be omitted in certain cases if desired. Since the finger 55 bears against thelower end of valve 16, rocking movement ofshaft'53 in a clock wise direction as considered in Figure 2 serves to raise the valve 16 into posltion to close the duct 13 and cut 'offithe supply of fuel 7 i '7 to the engine. This valve may, therefore, be

operated directly by the finger 55,.though under ordinary conditions I preferably provide'the arm 57 and associated linkage for; rocking the lever 30 in valve raising direction I so as to) relieve the valve of stresses incident to raising of this lever which might tend to interfere with accuracy of operation of the valve. 1

It will be apparent, from the foregoing,

that by turning the lever 50 in a clockwise direction, as considered in Figure 2, from a downwardly extendingiinto a] substantially horizontal position, the-valve 34 isiclosed,

the supply ofv fuel to the engineis out 'ofiffand the shaft25-is declutched from the engine. These three operations occur simultaneously,

or substantiallyso, and are all accomplished by the movement of thesingle lever 50. This serves to immediately disable the main or sur face power plant and to disconnect. it'fr-om the propeller shaft so that the submerged power plant can be thrown into operation immediately thus keeping theboat under control. If desired, the various parts maybe so timedthat the supply of fueltothe engine is cut off slightly in advance of closing of'the valve l3 l, 'a'fter'which the shaft 25-is de clutched from the'engine;

t will be obvious, therefore, that simultaneous operation of the clutch and the fuel control valve and'the ex- 'haust outlet air valve is not essential, it being sufficient that these v-arious'meinbers operate approximately simultaneously or sufficiently nearly close together to permit ofcutting out the main power plant and promptly putting into operation the submerged power plant.

The

time, the rod 83, is lowered. and shaft 3 nay be. turned under the influence of spring 56 into pennants lower the fuel control valve 16 for uncovering the duct 13. By swinging j' the fuel control lever 63 into its extreme pos tion to the left,'as considered in Figure 2,

shaft 53may beturned in a clockwise direction forraising valve 16 and cutting off supply of'fuel tothe engine. Also,-witli the rod 1 83 in lowered position, the clutch may be operated by lever 169 for clutching the shaft f to'and declutching it fromtlie en ine. It

' tremely short n t will thusbe seenthat the-disconnecting gear of my inventioinunder normal coiid1t1ons,in

' no way interfereswith the control and opera 'tion ofthe engine and the assoelated clutch means. w On the other hand, when'it is desired to dive or submerge, it is only necessary to throw the lever to operativeposition to stop the engine, *closethe exhaust pipe and declutch theengine from the propeller shaft. This can accompl shed practically instantane'ously, and the submerged power plant can be thrown into operationr'at once, thus rendering it'possible and safe'to dive on 'eX- As above indicated and-as will be a Jarent 'tothose skilled in the art, changes in construction andarr-angem'ent of parts of my invention may beresorted to without departing from the field and scope of. the same, and I intend to include all such variations, as fall ,Wltllln the scope of the appended claims, in

this application in which the preferred form only'of' my invention is disclosed.

What I claim'is: V V p '1.' In combination in a submarine boat, an

internal combustion engine within the hull, anexhaust pipe for the engine opening eX- teriorly of the hull, a shaft driven by the engine, means for supplying fuel to the engine, a valve controlling said pipe, clutch 'ineans for clutching-the engine to and declutching it "from' said shaft, and control means for simultaneously closing said valve, 7

cutting off the supply ofv fuel'to the engine and declutching the engine from said shaft.

2. In combination in a submarine boat, an internal combustion engine within the hull, an exhaust pipe for the engine opening exteriorlyiof the hull, a shaft driven by the engine, means for'supplying fuel to the engine, a valve controlling said pipe, clutch .means for clutchingtheengine to anddeclutching it from said shaft, and control 'means for simultaneously closing said valve, cutting off the supply of fuel to theengine I and declutching the engine from said shaft, said control means including lost motion connections permitting operation of the clutch means independently oftthe valve when said valve is open. V

3'. In combination in a subinarine boat, an

internal combustion engine within the hull, an exhaust pipe fOll the engine opening 'exteriorlyof the hull, a shaft driven by the engine, means for supplying fuel to the enrgine and including a fuelv supply control valve, a valve'controllingsaid pipe, clutch means for clutching the engine to and declutcliing it fromsaid shaft, and control means for-simultaneously closing both valves and doc-hitching the engine from said shaft. 4. In combination ina subiiiarine.boat,'an

internal combustion engine within the hull,

an exhaust pipe'for the engine opening exteriorly of the hull,-a shaft driven'by'the engine, means for supplying fuel to the en-' gine' and including a fuel supply control valve, a valve controllingsaid -pipe, clutch means for clutching the engine to and declutching llZ-fIOIIl said shaft, and control "means for simultaneously closing both valves and'declutching the engine from said shaft,

said control-'m'eans including lost motion connections permitting operation of the clutch means and the fuel supply control valve independently of' the exhaust pipe valve when the latter is open.

\ 5. In combination in a submarine boat, an

internal combustion engine within the hull,

an exhaust pipe for the engine opening exteriorly of the hull, aishaft driven by" the engine, means for supplying fuel to the engine and including: a fuel supply control valve, a'valve controlling said pipe', clutch means for clutching the engineto and declutching'it from said shaft, governor meansfor automatically adjusting the fuel supply control valve in accordance with f V variations in engine speed,and control means for simultaneously closing both valves and declutching the engine from said shaft, said control means including lost motion connections permitting operation of the fuel control valve by said governor means and operation of the clutch means, independently of the exhaust pipe valve when the latter is open.

ing means and the regulating means for' simultaneously closing said valve and declutching the engine from the shaft and cutting off the supply of fuel to the engine.

7 In combination in a submarine boat, an internal combustion engine Within the hull, an exhaust pipe for the engine opening exteriorly of the hull, a normally open valve controlling said pipe, a shaft driven by the engine, clutch means for clutching the engine to and declutching it from said shaft, a clutch lever having operating connection to the I clutch means, means for automatically governing the feed of fuel to the engine in accordance with variations in speed of rotation of said shaft, means supplemental to the automatic means for manually regulating the feed of fuel to the engine independently of said automatic means, a main control lever, operating connections'between the main control lever and the valve for opening and closing the latter, and means interconnecting said main control lever and the manual and automatic fuel controls and the connections between the clutch lever and the clutch means, said interconnecting means acting to declutch the engine from the shaft and to cut off the supply of fuel to the engine when the main control lever is operated to close said'valve, the interconnecting means including lost motion connections permitting independent operation of the clutch means and the automatic and manual means for controlling feed lever, operating connections between theother arm of the bell crank and the shaft and including a second link pivotally connected intermediate its ends to said shaft and having one end pivotally connected to said other arm of the bell crank, a rodpivoted to the other end of said second link, a rockably mounted main control shaft, operating connections between the control shaft and the valve for closing andopening the latter,

means including a fuel control valve for antomatically controlling supply of fuel to the engine in accordance with variations in speed of rotation of said shaft, a rockably mounted fuel control shaft, means for closing'the fuel valve upon movement of said fuel control shaft in one direction, a connection between the main control shaft and said rod formoving the latter in clutch releasing direction upon movement of' the main control shaft in valve closing direction, and a lost motion connection between said rod and the fuel control shaft for moving the latter in fuel valve closing direction upon movement of the rod in clutch releasing direction, said lost motion connection permitting rocking movement of the fuel control shaft independently ;of

said rod when the exhaust pipe valve is open.

9. In combination in a submarine boat, an internal combustion engine within the hull, means for supplying fuel to the engine, a

' normally open exhaust pipe for the engine opening exteriorly of the hull, a shaft to be driven by the engine, clutch means for clutching and declutching the engine to and from said shaft, an operating lever, and means actuated by said lever for cutting off the supply of fuel to the engine, closing the exhaust pipe and declutching the engine from the shaft.

10. In combination in submarine boat, an j internal combustion engine within the hull,

means for supplying fuel to the engine,- a normally open exhaust pipe for the engine opening exteriorly of the hull, a shaft to be driven by the engine, clutch means for clutching and declutching the engine to and from said shaft, and control means for cutting off the supply of fuel to the engine, closing the exhaust pipe and declutching the engine from the shaft in predetermined andtimed relation. a a

11. In combination in a submarine boat, an internal combustion engine within the hull, an exhaust pipe for the engine opening exteriorly of the hull, a shaft driven bythe engine, means for supplying fuel to the engine and including a fuel supply control valve, a valve controlling said pipe, clutch means for clutching the engine to and declutching it a from said shaft, and control means for closing both valves and declutchingthe enginev from said shaft in relation. I

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 26th day of December, 1930.

. ERNEST NIBBS.

predetermined and timed 

